Jeb Bush on Donald Trump: "He's not a serious person."
AP
Milford, New Hampshire — Former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida chided his Republican presidential rival Donald Trump on Thursday after the real-estate mogul abruptly canceled a hastily scheduled trip to Israel that was planned for later this month.

In an interview with Business Insider later Thursday, Bush didn't seem surprised at the quick change of plans.

"Of course it was canceled," Bush said after speaking at a town-hall event here. "Who would want to see him after he created a real problem by a blanket statement that wasn't serious?"

Bush was referring to Trump's call to temporarily bar Muslims from entering the US in the aftermath of last week's shooting in San Bernardino, California, in which both shooters were thought to be inspired by the Islamic State terrorist group, aka ISIS.

Netanyahu had said he planned to speak with any US presidential candidate who requested a meeting so as not to appear favorable toward any particular candidate. But news of Trump's potential visit caused an uproar and prompted calls from within Israel's Parliament for Netanyahu to cancel the meeting.

"Look, the guy's not serious. He's not a serious person," Bush said. "He can't be commander-in-chief. He doesn't have plans. This is all dog-whistle talk. This is to provoke anger. This is to — with all due respect to the media — this is to generate massive attention to him. It's not about a serious plan. Is that a serious plan in all reality? Of course not."

Bush called Trump "unhinged" in a fierce statement minutes after learning of Trump's proposal early this week. Several of Trump's other rivals in the Republican presidential race also condemned his proposal.

And in a statement on Wednesday, Netanyahu made clear that he rejected Trump's comments; his office issued a statement that said Israel "respects all religions and strictly guarantees the rights of all of its citizens."

Though Trump was the one to publicly cancel his meeting with Netanyahu, Bush said it was clear why Netanyahu wouldn't want to meet with a US presidential candidate who was "endorsing a view that would be against his national-security interests."

"If you view it as a serious proposal, which it isn't, what he's proposing is weakening our position in the world," Bush said, "making it harder for us to be protected. Not stronger. He's weakening the United States' posture in the world, and he's keeping our country less safe."

Business Insider asked if that was the case already. Bush said Trump's statement alone was detrimental to the US's foreign-policy interests.

"By his statement!" Bush said. "If that statement was to be a policy and was implemented, it would make it harder for us to take out ISIS. Near impossible. It would make it harder for us to engage in the world. No one would take us seriously. This is ludicrous. This is not even worth talking about."

For his part, Trump told Fox News on Thursday that he postponed the visit until "after I become president" because he didn't want to put Netanyahu under any pressure.

"You know, he said, 'We have a meeting.' And he looks forward to the meeting and all of that," Trump said when asked about the cancellation. "But I didn't want to put him under pressure, number one. I also did it because I'm in the midst of a very powerful campaign that's going very well, and it was not that easy to do. So I would say lots of different reasons."

Bush and Trump have feuded prominently on the campaign trail this year, as Trump has surged in the GOP race largely at the expense of Bush. The former Florida governor has sought to expose Trump's inexperience and supposed lack of seriousness as a potential commander-in-chief in recent weeks.

At the town-hall event, Bush joked that he had told his staff earlier in the day that he had "almost promised not to use his name today." But he couldn't resist. When one New Hampshire voter asked him his plan on immigration, he contrasted his view with Trump's stated goal of deporting the approximately 11 million people living in the country unlawfully.

"That's not a serious proposal. He's not a serious man," Bush said.

He added: "Pass that along, by the way. Because that'll get him upset."